Sparring

Wow, it’s crowded here today, ” Brody said. It was the following morning. Brody was walking into the gymnasium with Hermes, Julia, and Markos. Some gods were already there, along with their champions. There were several gods Brody had never seen before, including a goddess with flowers sprouting in her hair and floating out of her mouth. He also spotted a god with the legs and horns of a goat. “ The opening of the Games is drawing near, ” Markos reminded him. “ Naturally, everyone wants to be ready. ” “ Right. Including us, ” Hermes said. “ We’ll start with boxing today. ”

哇，今天这里很拥挤，”布罗迪说。 那是第二天早上。布罗迪和赫尔墨斯，茱莉亚和马库斯一起走进体育馆。一些神和他们的冠军已经在那里了。 这里有几位布罗迪从未见过的神，包括一位头发上长着鲜花、嘴里飘出花朵的女神。他还发现了一个长着山羊腿和山羊角的神。 “奥运会就要开幕了，”马库斯提醒他。“当然，每个人都想做好准备。” “是的。包括我们，“赫尔墨斯说。“我们今天就从拳击开始。”

“ Do you want me to spar with Brody, Hermes?” Markos asked, sounding nervous. “ No, ” Hermes replied. “ I want you and the girl to wander around Olympia. Find out everything you can about Heracles. ” Markos bowed. “ As you wish, Hermes. We’ll return when we have news. ” He and Julia hurried away. Brody felt disappointed. To his surprise he liked having the two of them around while he worked out. “ I can’t believe I actually like hanging around with a couple of nerds, ” he thought.

“你想让我和布罗迪比试一下吗，赫尔墨斯?”马库斯紧张地问。 “不，”赫尔墨斯回答。“我要你和那个女孩在奥林匹亚四处闲逛。找出关于赫拉克勒斯的一切。” 马库斯鞠了一躬。“如你所愿，赫尔墨斯。有消息后我们会回来的。” 他和茱莉亚匆匆离开了。布罗迪感到失落。令他惊讶的是，他喜欢锻炼时有他们两个陪在身边。 “我真不敢相信我竟然喜欢和两个书呆子混在一起，”他想。

He forgot about that when Hermes dragged him over to a goddess wearing a veil and holding a staff. She was watching her champion, a stout youth with long black hair. “ Greetings, Hestia, ” Hermes said. “ My champion needs a sparring partner. What do you say? Shall our champions box?” The goddess eyed Brody. “ I suppose that would be all right, ” she said. “ My champion hasn’t had much chance to practice his boxing in Olympia. Probably because his reputation as the best boxer in Greece has scared off the competition. ”

当赫尔墨斯把他拖到一位戴着面纱、手持权杖的女神面前时，他忘记了这一点。她正注视着她的冠军，一个留着黑色长发的健壮青年。 “你好，赫斯提，”赫尔墨斯说。“我的冠军需要一个陪练。你说呢?我们的冠军们要来一场吗?” 女神注视着布罗迪。“我想没什么问题，”她说。 “我的冠军在奥林匹亚没有太多机会练习拳击。可能是因为他作为希腊最好的拳击手的名声吓跑了竞争对手。”

“ We’ll see about that, ” Hermes said with a chuckle. He shoved Brody forward. “ Get to it, boy! ” Brody nodded and lifted his fists. The other athlete did the same. “ Hi, ” Brody said as he sent off a jab with his left fist. “ I’m Brody. ” “ Yes, I’ve seen you around the agora, ” the other boy said. “ I’m Timon. ” “ Nice to meet you. ” Brody let his right fist fly. “ Oof! ” Timon grunted as Brody’s punch landed on his beefy shoulder.

“我们走着瞧，”赫尔墨斯笑着说。他把布罗迪往前推。“去吧，小子!” 布罗迪点点头，举起拳头。另一位运动员也做了同样的事情。 “嗨，”布罗迪边说边挥出了一记左拳。“我是布罗迪。” “是的，我在集市上见过你，”另一个男孩说。“我是丁满。” “很高兴见到你。”布罗迪挥起右拳。 “嗯！”丁满闷哼一声，布罗迪一拳落在他结实的肩膀上。

“ Pay attention, Timon! ” Hestia called. “ You’ll need to do better than that if you wish to defeat Heracles. ” Hestia and Hermes watched the two boys box for a while, calling out orders and encouragement. But eventually they started to look bored. Finally they wandered off to talk to Apollo, who was watching his champion run nearby. Brody was pretty sure he heard Hermes ask Apollo if he’d seen Heracles that day. “ I wish they’d all stop talking about Heracles, ” Timon grumbled. “ I know what you mean. ” Brody dodged a punch. Then he easily landed a punch on the other boy’s chest.

“集中注意力，丁满！”赫斯提喊道。“如果你想打败赫拉克勒斯，你需要做得更好。” 赫斯提和赫尔墨斯看着两个男孩打了一会儿拳击，大声命令和鼓励。但最终他们开始无聊了。 最后，他们闲逛着去和阿波罗交谈，阿波罗正在附近看他的冠军赛跑。布罗迪非常确定他听到赫尔墨斯问阿波罗那天是否见过赫拉克勒斯。 “我希望他们都不要再谈论赫拉克勒斯了。”丁满抱怨道。 “我明白你的意思。”布罗迪躲过了一拳。然后他轻松地一拳打在另一个男孩的胸口上。

“ Ow! ” Timon complained, rubbing the spot. “ Look. Hera just arrived. ” “ Really?” Brody turned to look. Pain exploded in his chin as Timon’s fist landed there. “ Hey! ” “ Sorry. ” Timon grinned. “ I had to retaliate. Now we’re even. ” “ Fine, ” Brody grumbled, rubbing his chin. He turned his attention back to Hera. The queen of the gods was striding across the gymnasium. Her champion was jogging to keep up.

“噢!”丁满一边揉着伤口一边抱怨。“看。赫拉刚到。” “真的吗?”布罗迪转过身去看。丁满的拳头落在他的下巴上，他一阵剧痛。“嘿!” “对不起。”丁满咧嘴一笑。“我不得不报复回去。现在我们扯平了。” “好吧，”布罗迪揉着下巴嘟囔着。他把注意力转回赫拉身上。众神之后正大步穿过体育馆。她的冠军慢跑着跟上。